Field Hockey Canada aims to accelerate growth and performance at all levels
The generational investment in sport announced as part of the Government of Canada’s Spring Economic Update is expected to have substantial benefits for Canadian communities and Field Hockey Canada is ready to do its part to strengthen field hockey participation and performance across the country.
Growing the Game Nationwide
A central component of the federal announcement of $660 million for National Sport Organizations over the next five years is increasing participation, diversity, and access to sport. This aligns with Field Hockey Canada’s goal of growing field hockey nationwide. Through initiatives such as Stick Together, Field Hockey Canada has already seen the impact of targeted investment in community-based sport, with the program supporting 66 projects and reaching over 30,000 participants, coast-to-coast to coast, over the last four years.
Field Hockey Canada’s national talent identification and development system is also evolving to meet more athletes at the club level. This approach helps athletes build skills close to home while raising competition standards across the country. Federal investment will enable FHC to expand this model, creating more opportunities to participate and strengthening pathways for athletes, coaches, officials, and volunteers. One example is Field Hockey Canada’s partnership with U SPORTS to deliver the annual U SPORTS Field Hockey Championships each fall. As part of that work, FHC is helping the U SPORTS Field Hockey Championships grow to include universities from across the country and become an integral part of the player and official development pathway.
FHC also continues to enhance and expand our community partnerships, working with clubs such as West Vancouver Field Hockey Club and Tamanawis Field Hockey Society, to offer coach and player development supports. In line with the federal government’s emphasis on hosting sport events, FHC has also been expanding our hosting portfolio nationwide through partnerships with organizations like Sikh Games Canada to allow us to support home hosting for our national teams.
Enabling Excellence from Grassroots to Global Stage
While we expand our domestic opportunities, our national teams also need dedicated high-performance resources and opportunities to compete internationally, and the federal investment of targeted funding to better support national team athletes will help address the growing costs associated.
An additional $45 million over five years for high-performance will enable FHC to strengthen supports for national team athletes, with a focus on athlete wellbeing, mental health, and Safe Sport. With resources to hire world-class coaches and expand integrated support teams, we can build a sustainable high-performance system that gives athletes the best chance to succeed and perform at their peak.
Reaching the podium will take the entire field hockey community working together, however. During a recent press conference, Secretary of Sport Adam van Koeverden noted that sustainable sport systems in Canada require both federal investment and private-sector support. Field Hockey Canada has already seen that increased support from private donors. A major seed donation of $375,000 helped launch the Power the Podium Trust Fund last fall, and steady progress is already being made towards the initial goal of reaching $1,000,000 by the end of 2027.
This long-term philanthropic initiative, along with trust funds supporting the Men’s and Women’s National Teams, and the Adopt-An-Athlete campaigns have raised significant and sustainable funding for the national teams and will create stronger conditions for success on the world stage.
Accelerating Our Path Forward
This federal investment in sport arrives at a critical time for Field Hockey Canada. Like many organizations in the Canadian sport system, we have worked to deliver meaningful impact despite limited resources. But there is now a renewed sense of optimism. New federal funding will help accelerate work already underway and reinforce the vision of a connected national system that supports field hockey participants at every level, from playground to podium, as Field Hockey Canada grows its Team of Teams.
Today’s story is part 2 of a three-part response to the Canadian Government’s funding announcement. Please review all stories in this series.
Part 1 – Federal Government Announces Historic Sport Investment
– CEO, Susan Ahrens welcomes investment in stronger national sport system
Part 2 – Federal investment in sport signals a strong future for Field Hockey Canada
– Incoming funds will help important work continue around building strong governance
Part 3 – Federal sport funding expected to boost performance across the country
– Field Hockey Canada aims to accelerate growth and performance at all levels
